Windows on Melville

Windows on Melville is a fascinating critical study of four famous novels by Herman Melville, bringing to contemporary readers new perspectives on these classic works.

Through incisive analysis of Melville's lush prose, John Reeves traces Melville's development as a writer: from an examination of the exuberant, innovative style of the early autobiographical tales, Typee and Omoo; through a complex interpretation of Moby Dick that focuses on the exploration of Spinoza's philosophical theories; to a discussion of the narrative skill that reached its culmination in his last masterpiece Billy Budd.

A valuable contribution to the study of 19th-century American literature, this cogent, concisely written text brings refreshing clarity to the understanding of Melville's creation of new fictional genres of artistic expression.

A graduate of Horace Mann School and Williams College, with an M.A. degree from Columbia, John D. Reeves has taught English at Whitman College, Walla Walla, WA., Millikin University, Decatur, IL., and Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY. During World War II, he served first in the Canal Zone as a skipper of a PYC, and later in the Western Pacific as an anti-submarine warfare and communications officer abroad a destroyer escort in which he chased submarines. His war experiences made him familiar with the PacificÕs changing and unpredictable moods.